Lights and Sounds
by Ash M. Knight
Summary: Emma has grown bored and tired with her job at an amusement park - at least until she meets Regina, a beautiful girl afraid of the height of the ferris wheel she's operating. One-shot. SwanQueen AU.


The lights and sounds were enchanting to some, but to Emma, it was all just blurry colors and white noise. Even the food, which had once been a treat, had grown stale on her tongue when she consumed any. Where others reveled in the care-free atmosphere, Emma labored to tolerate it. When she parked her Ford pickup truck behind the rear gates of the amusement park, her head fell against the top of the wheel as she let out an exaggerated sigh.

"Here we go again," she grumbled as she climbed out, slammed the cab door shut, and grabbed her bag out of the bed of the truck.

She used her set of keys to unlock the gates, letting herself in and slipping into the large employees' tent to the right of the pathway.

"You're late," a voice bellowed from behind her as she put her bag in a locker. "I'll not have little punks like you slacking off. If you want to work here, you'd best be on time."

"And if I don't?" Emma mumbled under her breath, just loud enough for the man to know she'd said something.

"What was that?"

"Nothing. Sorry I was late. I'll be getting to work now."

She had to bite her tongue to keep from saying anything else.

Before leaving the tent to report to her station, she checked her belt for her multitool, utility knife, and flashlight. Seeing that they were all there, she made her way out of the tent and wandered outside.

The stars were invisible, blinded by the bright neon lights surrounding her, but Emma looked for them anyway, like she did every night. When she finally made her way to her station at the ferris wheel, she looked sullen and exhausted.

"Well don't you look young and spry today!" her coworker laughed as he pulled the break on the machine and slowed it to a stop.

"Shut up, Jesse," she groaned, stepping into the booth beside him and taking over the controls.

"You got this?"

"Yeah," Emma said. "I got this." Then, she turned to the line of people and said her first official statement of the night: "Come on up."

She made sure that each small group made their way safely into a carriage before starting up the ride. The faces of the youngest children were all either lit up with joy or covered in fearful sweat. When she first had started working there, she'd enjoyed watching the people on the ride, but she'd grown weary of it as the job became a joyless routine to follow six nights a week. The night went on like that, with Emma ignoring the emotions of her passengers, until someone caught her attention.

As she slowed the ride to a stop, out of the corner of her eye, she saw a young woman with dark brown hair, her hands shaking and her eyes filled with fear. She was alone. This was curious to Emma, given that, when people looked scared, they were usually with a bunch of other people who weren't. But this young lady was by herself, and she looked positively _terrified._

When she stepped up to the gate, she was the first in line, so Emma looked her directly in the eyes.

"You okay, hun?" Emma asked, forcing a small smile.

"Yeah... I... Uh..."

"It's not that bad. I promise."

"I... I'm scared of heights..."

"Just don't look directly below you. Look around at the lights and the tents and the sky. It'll be alright," Emma encouraged her. "But why are you going if you're scared?"

"My so-called-friends dared me."

"Ah, I see. Something to prove?"

"No! I just don't want to look like a coward."

"I'm sure you're not one. You ready to go?"

"Hurry up already!" a man a few places back in the line shouted.

Emma rolled her eyes, then noticed that the girl suddenly looked panic-stricken.

"You don't have to go up there. You could just lie and tell them you went and it was great."

"I don't lie."

"Alright," Emma said slowly, looking around. When she found what she was looking for, she shouted, "JESSE! Hey, Jesse! C'mere a minute!"

The young man wandered over slowly and looked her up and down.

"Yeah? What?"

"I need you to do this round and then I'll take over again, okay?"

"What? Why? This is supposed to be your post now."

"I know. Just do it, okay? One ride."

"What are you talking about? You hate this thing!"

"Please?"

The boy shrugged his shoulders and stepped up onto the platform, then held the gate open.

"Oh, and Jesse... do the thing, would you?" Emma whispered.

"What thing?"

" _The_ thing."

"Oh. Right," he said. "Go on, ladies. Step right in."

"Come on," Emma said to the brunette. "I'm going with you."

"What? I..."

"Come on."

Holding her hand out, Emma looked into the young woman's eyes and waited for a response. When the brunette finally took her hand, Emma gently pulled her inside the carriage and shut the small door that was meant to keep them from falling out.

"My name's Emma."

"Regina," the beautiful girl managed, looking around, as though desperately trying to find an escape route.

"Hey," Emma said softly, gently turning the girl's chin until they were looking in each other's eyes. "It's gonna be okay." When they reached the top of the ferris wheel, she added, "Look around, but not down. It's beautiful, isn't it?"

At first, Regina's eyes stayed squeezed tightly shut, but when Emma took her hand again, her eyes shot open. When the girl looked around and saw that Emma was right, her lips parted as she gathered composure enough to speak.

"You're right. It is-"

But the ferris wheel screeched to a halt before Regina could finish her sentence.

"You've got to be kidding me," Emma said, letting out an exaggerated groan.

"Oh my God," Regina breathed, gripping the bars beside her seat and beginning to hyperventilate. "We're stuck up here."

"Hey, calm down," Emma said softly. "It's gonna be fine. It's probably just a little machine malfunction." When she saw that the girl was not calming down at all, she asked, "Do you want to come sit next to me?"

Regina hesitated.

"I... Um..."

"You don't have to. I was just asking."

Without another word - she couldn't seem to find one she felt able to speak - she moved to sit beside Emma. When the blonde felt that the girl was shaking, she wrapped an arm around her shoulders and gave a gentle squeeze, hoping that she wasn't stepping over any boundaries or making the girl uncomfortable.

"I've worked here for three summers," Emma told her. "Nothing's going to happen to you, okay? I promise."

"But what if-"

"Hey. Seriously. He'll have it up and running again in no time. It's a normal malfunction that happens sometimes. The machine is reliable. It just has a few hiccups every now and then. Look, I'll peek over and see how he's doing."

Emma stood up, causing Regina's eyes to widen, and leaned over the side of the carriage as she peered over the edge to spot her coworker. When she found him with her eyes, he was fiddling with the levers of the machine diligently - or so it seemed.

"He's working on it," Emma told the beautiful girl in front of her as she turned around.

Regina's face was drained of color.

"Sit down! What if you fall?"

"I'm not gonna fall," the blonde laughed, leaning back over the edge, a little further than she had before.

"Emma!" the brunette shrieked. "Don't!"

Finally, Emma pulled away from the side of the carriage and sat back down beside Regina.

"It's gonna be fine," the blonde promised.

Regina looked around anxiously, gripping the side of the carriage until her knuckles turned white.

"Look at the lights," Emma said, pointing out at the view before them. "Aren't they beautiful?"

Music and flashing spurts of color poured forth from the amusement park below and lit up the scenery. When Regina started to look further down, closer to the edge of the carriage, Emma gently lifted the girl's chin.

"Don't look directly down," the young employee said. "Just look out at the park."

"I can't help it!" Regina cried. "I'm terrified!"

"Just look at the lights. Trust me."

Reluctantly, Regina lifted her head just enough to take in the view. Even more reluctantly, she began to give a small smile.

"See?" Emma asked. "It's gonna be alright."

After a few moments of silence, Regina's breath finally slowed, and she looked back at the blonde beside her.

"Thank you," Regina said. "I really hate heights, but you're making me at least feel okay. Safe, even."

"Really...?"

"Yes, actually. I just took the dare because I was too ashamed to admit my fear to my friends," the girl said, then paused before continuing by saying, "They're not my friends, really."

"No?"

"No. I guess they're just... acquaintances from school that sort of... um... bully me... er... a little."

Emma's eyes widened.

"Oh, yeah?"

"Uh... yeah."

"I'd love to get my hands on them and introduce them to my utility knife," she said, half serious. Suddenly, she smirked and stood up again, leaning back over the side of the carriage and yelling, "Hey, Jesse! Hurry it up, will you?"

Just after she'd shouted the words, the ride jerked heavily back into movement.

"Oh, God!" Regina cried, tightly gripping the railing again as she braced herself.

Seeing this, Emma immediately sat back down and wrapped her arm around the girl.

"It's alright. We're almost off. One more minute. Hang in there, okay?"

Regina nodded and leaned into the young blonde, squeezing her eyes shut.

"I wish I'd never gotten on this stupid ride!" she whimpered, gripping the sleeve of Emma's shirt.

"I wish I could say I'm terribly sorry this happened to you, but..."

Regina's eyes snapped open.

"But what?"

"But I feel lucky to have met such a beautiful young lady tonight."

Under the bright lights of the ferris wheel, Emma could see the girl's face turn bright red.

"I'm... I'm glad to have met you too, Emma."

When the ride finally screeched to a stop, Emma got out of the carriage first, then held out her hand to help the young lady step out next.

"T-Thank you," Regina stuttered, grateful to be back on solid ground as she walked away from the horrifying experience.

Emma looked back at her coworker, who was glaring at her impatiently, then turned to face her new acquaintance.

"I have to get back to work, but... could I..."

She trailed off, embarrassed, but Regina picked up on the tone of her voice and broke into a full smile.

"I'd love to give you my number, if you'd call me sometime."

"And I'd love to call you sometime."

Emma pulled a Sharpie out of her jeans' pocket and gave it to Regina, holding her arm steady as the brunette wrote ten digits on the palm of her hand. She bit her lip before pulling her hand away. As Emma turned to leave, the brunette leaned in and pressed her lips to the girl's cheek.

"Thank you, Emma. Have a good night. Hopefully, I'll see you around soon."

Needless to say, caught up in her thoughts, Emma was in a terrible condition to be operating heavy machinery, but she managed to hold herself together until her shift was finally over, well past midnight. By the time she got home, her thoughts were completely consumed by the beautiful brunette and the feel of her arms around the girl's shoulders.


End file.
